Hashirama was a little tempted by what Madara said.
"That seems to make sense."
Zhang Yu stared at the screen, utterly speechless.
"Madara, you're pretty good at developing ninjutsu, huh?"
In front of the liquor cellar, Hashirama crouched down and pressed his hands together.
A wisp of Wood Release chakra seeped from his fingertips.
A tiny wooden shoot slipped in along the edge of the keyhole. Rather than forcing the lock apart, it slowly extended through the mechanism like a vine.
Hashirama closed his eyes, his hesitant expression turning serious.
"This lock is pretty complicated."
Madara stood beside him and offered a reminder.
"Don't force it."
"Follow the catches inside."
"There's a latch on the left and fine teeth on the right."
As Hashirama controlled the Wood Release, he muttered, "Madara, how do you know more about this than I do?"
Madara replied evenly, "Observation."
A few moments later, a soft click came from the keyhole.
Hashirama's eyes lit up.
"Got it!"
He turned his fingers, and the Wood Release formed a makeshift key inside the lock.
Then he gave it a gentle twist.
Click.
The heavy cellar door opened.
Hashirama looked at his hand, his face full of delight.
"I think I developed a new ninjutsu."
Madara nodded.
"Wood Release: Keyhole Key Jutsu."
Hashirama repeated it seriously.
"Wood Release: Keyhole Key Jutsu."
In front of the distant screen, Zhang Yu nearly choked.
"What is wrong with you two?!"
"Hashirama Senju develops a new Wood Release jutsu, and the first thing he uses it for is stealing the boss's liquor?"
The moment the cellar door opened, a chill rose from underground.
The summer heat was intense, and the cool air washed over Hashirama and Madara's faces, making both of them visibly more comfortable.
Inside the underground cellar, rows of liquor bottles stood neatly arranged.
There was erguotou, beer, vodka, and several other drink ingredients Zhang Yu had bought from the system shop to keep in reserve.
Hashirama's eyes shone at the sight.
"The boss has stashed away quite a lot."
Madara walked in, and his gaze quickly settled on the vodka.
The clear, slender bottles sat quietly on the shelf, their surfaces gleaming coldly.
He still remembered how strong it had been last night.
The feeling of a mouthful of liquor burning away the gloom weighing on his chest had indeed been good.
Hashirama picked up a bottle and swallowed.
"Just this one?"
Madara nodded.
"Grab some beer too."
Hashirama picked up two bottles of beer.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped.
"Wait, something's wrong."
Madara frowned.
"What is it now?"
Hashirama's expression turned serious.
"Tobirama's still at the tavern."
Madara looked at him.
"So?"
Hashirama lowered his voice.
"He's smart."
"If we drink the liquor, he'll definitely notice."
"And then he'll definitely tell the boss."
Madara fell silent for a moment.
That really was a problem.
Tobirama Senju was too sharp.
All he had to do was check the ledger and compare it with the inventory, and he'd immediately discover that a few bottles were missing.
The more Hashirama thought about it, the more nervous he became.
"And Tobirama is completely impartial."
"He wouldn't even cover for me, his own big brother."
Madara snorted coldly.
"Then we'll make sure he can't tell on us."
Hashirama jumped.
"Madara, don't do anything reckless! You can't hit Tobirama!"
Madara shot him a cold glance.
"Who said anything about hitting him?"
Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then what do we do?"
Madara picked up a bottle of vodka and looked at the other drinks nearby.
"Get him involved."
Hashirama froze.
"Get Tobirama involved?"
Madara's tone was calm.
"Didn't the boss say liquor could be mixed into cocktails?"
"Tobirama doesn't like drinking vodka that way."
"But if we mix it into a new drink for the tavern and have him taste it, he won't be the one who discovers it. He'll be a participant."
Hashirama's eyes grew brighter as he listened.
"That makes sense!"
Madara continued, "As long as he drinks it, he won't be able to criticize us with completely clean hands."
Understanding dawned on Hashirama.
"Once we've all had some, the boss can't very well scold just us."
Madara nodded.
"Exactly."
Hashirama eagerly gathered up the bottles.
"Madara, you're so smart!"
Madara said coldly, "Quit talking and grab the liquor."
The two hit it off immediately and headed out with the vodka and beer in their arms.
Zhang Yu stared at the remote screen, completely numb by now.
"Ridiculous."
"This is utterly ridiculous."
"Two top-tier employees teaming up to steal my liquor."
"And after stealing it, they're planning to use my liquor to buy off another employee."
"Who's the boss of this tavern, anyway?"
He rubbed his brow and forced his attention away from the screen.
Forget it.
I'll deal with it later.
The remote screen was recording everything anyway.
When he got back, he'd settle the score with all of them.
For now, the most important thing was still the Hundred Flowers Brew task.
Zhang Yu closed the screen and looked ahead.
The streets of Konoha were growing livelier.
The flower shop wasn't hard to find.
The Yamanaka Clan's flower shop was well known in Konoha. Flowers of every color filled the space outside, and their faint fragrance could be smelled from far away.
As Zhang Yu approached, he saw that the shop door was half open, sunlight falling across the flower racks.
Red, white, yellow, purple-all kinds of flowers were arranged in neat rows, even more than he had imagined.
"Looks like I came to the right place."
Zhang Yu's mood improved considerably.
As long as he could gather some of them here, he could look for the rest in the mountains and forests and at other stalls. Then he'd have a chance of completing the task of finding a hundred kinds of flowers.
He stepped inside.
The little bell hanging by the door gave a gentle ring.
"Welcome."
A clear female voice came from inside the shop.
Zhang Yu looked up.
A blond girl stood behind a flower rack, holding a small pair of shears for trimming flower stems.
She was dressed simply and neatly, her long blond hair tied back, with a few loose strands falling over her forehead and framing her fair, clear face.
She was tall and slender, with a slim waist and a bright, capable air.
It wasn't a delicate kind of beauty.
She was full of youthful energy, and her eyes were bright.
Ino Yamanaka.
One of the Konoha 12.
It was Zhang Yu's first time seeing her in person, and his gaze lingered on her a moment longer.
His impression of her from the anime was one thing.
Having her standing right in front of him was another.
The fragrance of flowers, the sunlight, the blond girl.
It really was a pleasing sight.
Seeing him looking at her, Ino tilted her head slightly.
"Would you like to buy some flowers?"
Zhang Yu came back to his senses. Looking at Ino's striking bearing and pretty features, he immediately felt a little more fond of her.
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Yes."
Ino immediately put on a professional smile.
"What kind of flowers would you like?"
She put down the shears and walked over to the flower rack, speaking with practiced ease.
"Are they a gift? For decoration? An offering? Or medicinal ingredients?"
Zhang Yu glanced over the flowers in the shop.
There were indeed quite a few kinds.
But the Hundred Flowers Brew task required a hundred different kinds of flowers, and the system hadn't given him a list.
He knew only a limited number of flowers in the Shinobi World.
If he picked them by eye alone, who knew whether he'd end up with duplicates?
What if he bought them and the system didn't recognize them? Wouldn't the trip have been wasted?
An idea occurred to Zhang Yu, and he opened the system shop.
Search.
Flower guide.
The next second, a row of books appeared on the panel.
[Ordinary Plant Guide: 50 gold coins] [Complete Guide to Common Flowers of Konoha: 100 gold coins] [Concise Flower Guide to the Shinobi World: 200 gold coins] [Out-of-Print Collector's Edition: Complete Flower Guide to the Shinobi World, Full Set: 500 gold coins]